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The final instalment in the McMurdo family saga in Scotland has just been published. 'Faeries, Farms and Folk' is the prequel to 'Ours, Yours and Mines' and is set in and around Dumfries in the 18th century. The family originally farmed on common land but with The Enclosures they had to work as agricultural labourers wherever they could. Their lives were influenced by witchcraft and the kirk. Many people with Scottish ancestry will find Agricultural Labourers among their forebears, because so many people in Scotland prior to the industrial revolution were engaged in working the land in one form or another. Their living standards were basic. Most were born, lived and died in the same area. Belief in witchcraft and faeries was commonplace and people who were believed to have ‘the gift’ – the ability to see into the future – were feared and ostracised.
They lived in a time of political unrest and religious fervour, fuelled by the belief of many that witches, ghosts and goblins played a part in their fortunes or misfortunes.
It is a fascinating period in history, and one which should be visited from time to time, to remind us of the freedoms we enjoy today.
http://www.amazon.com/Faeries-Farms-...farms+and+folk
They lived in a time of political unrest and religious fervour, fuelled by the belief of many that witches, ghosts and goblins played a part in their fortunes or misfortunes.
It is a fascinating period in history, and one which should be visited from time to time, to remind us of the freedoms we enjoy today.
http://www.amazon.com/Faeries-Farms-...farms+and+folk
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